House of M #4: Here, and There, and Everywhere

The Lensherrs have had some company lately. Lord Magnus, ruler of Genosha, has played host to his old friend Christopher Summers, and Christopher’s three sons Scott (who brought along his fiancée Emma Frost), Alex (who is currently taking part in a secret affair with Lord Magnus’ daughter Princess Lorna) and Gabriel. In addition to the Summers, visitors from the country of Attilan have also been guests in the palace. Their presence has lead Prince Pietro (who is engaged to British princess Betsy Braddock) to begin seeing Crystalia Amaquelin (one of the visiting diplomats from Attilan) in a romantic fashion.

Meanwhile, Princess Lorna has been attempting to juggle her affair with Alex Summers with her more public relationship to Carter Gazikhanian. This all comes just as her sister Princess Wanda began dating Everett Thomas, a young guardsman who saved both princesses’ lives during an attempted terrorist attack.

All these young people are seen as pawns to Queen Magda, the conniving matriarch who sees insuring the throne has an heir as her first priority. Her sense of urgency stems from the fact that her husband Lord Magnus is dying of a mysterious illness, known only to her and the royal family’s aide-de-camp Jean Grey. In an attempt to make the family look more sympathetic, she has sent her children and their friends to Haiti, to aid in the earthquake relief efforts there.

Genosha has recently been plagued by a string of vicious attacks by a mysterious terrorist organization run by A strange woman calling herself The Black Queen. One of her disciples, one Cordelia Frost (or Pogrom as she prefers) is currently being held prisoner by the Red Guard, Lord Magnus’ elite military squad. Pogrom is sister to palace visitor Emma Frost.

Lord Magnus has been playing his own cards close to the chest and, in typical Lensherr fashion, has involved no one in his recent plans, not even his wife. Sensing a Human-Mutant war on the horizon, he has been reconnecting with all his old associates, vying for their financial support. His latest would-be benefactors are the mysterious California criminal organization The Pride…